ADDITION: Just after recording this video I noticed that one of my TIDAL settings had changed (due to an update) and I did not catch it before recording this video. All things considered, even TIDAL HiFi quality had little difference between it and CD, and conversely vinyl. It should also be noted, that for a lot of people the "difference" in formats might be little more than a change in SPL. For example, through the Technics SL-G700 SACD/CD/Media Player, physical CDs had (on average) a +7-10dB increase over streaming (in any format). It's an even greater difference between CD and vinyl. Match the SPL levels and things become EVEN MORE MURKY. We will be discussing Hi-Res or MASTER quality audio in a future video. Thanks for watching, apologize for any potential confusion.

For me Vinyl is fun, CD is reliable & Music streaming is convenient.

CD=Qualty, Vinyl=Nostalgia Streaming=Convenience

CDs have one major advantage at the moment. They are cheap!

I personally prefer vinyl for two reasons: the inconvenience and the elevated price level.

for me, it was always like this: music recorded analogically (60s, 70s, and early 80s) = vinyl. Digitally recorded music = CD. Streaming is just pure convenience, Sorry my rusty english. Greetings from Argentina!

Vinyls or cds, it makes no difference to me because I record them onto cassettes just to listen to them while driving my 1987 Honda Accord with factory audio

The whole "tea ceremony" of playing vinyl is.... nice. Really nice. I miss it sometimes. In the late 1970s I was working as a sound recording engineer, recording pop groups and symphonies onto 24 track 15-ips tape, adding artificial reverb (that's why "soundstage" is such an oxymoron when multiple close-miked recordings are the norm), mixing them down to 2 tracks, and cutting vinyl. Then my studio started getting ready for digital audio, I said, "What's digital??", touched my first personal PC (the Apple ][) and I was hooked into computing. I joined the IT industry as a network engineer, and have been an IT manger with HiFi only as an (expensive) hobby since then. I threw away all my vinyl in 1985. I hadn't played them in nearly 10 years, having grabbed CD playback as my choice of source since it appeared. The main difference was the lack of turntable rumble, wow, flutter, total silence between tracks and of course ticks and pops. And I find it incredible so many still dare to claim that their super-hard diamond stylus scraping itself over their relatively soft vinyl does the grove no harm! If I had known there'd be a resurgence of vinyl in the early 21st century I would have kept all the vinyl of course. (And I should have bought Apple stock then as well.... sigh.) Anyway, when RIPs became available I immediately converted all my CDs to 16/44 WAV files - and have them as FLAC now. With everyone claiming vinyl has that immeasurable "something", I tried vinyl again about 5 years ago. I found the issue identical to what I suspected was the 'improvement' everyone is raving about, and it is this.... Because stylii can jump out of the groove with too much bass, ALL vinyl masters are EQed with a deep bass roll-off and a slight mid-bass hump added (to compensate). Yes. All of them! So while digital masters are equalized "Flat" - identical to the final master (and, so relatively, "thin" sounding) - vinyl is not, was not, and can never be. That extra "something" re the audio? You can do the same with just a simple $5 equalizer. Nuff said. A simple question to ask. Why has no vinyl company created a CD off the source signal EQed for vinyl - and released them both. Clearly when you play them back in sync and switch between them they would sound identical, or vinyl will show it's 'superiority'. An easy way to solve this age-old argument right? Well, not so easy. Because even the cartridge affects - to be exact, colours - the sound. As does the RIAA equaliser. So many combinations of things that affect and colour the analogue signal. With digital, the analogue stage starts only after the DAC. With digital, I know it does not matter if the source is a CD rip, off my USB flash drive, my LAN network access storage, or streamed off an iRadio station. Provided it is a 16/44 original file, my DAC gets the same input every time. The solution? With digital get 'warmer' sounding loudspeakers with a bass bump and quick roll off. But you are going to miss out on the visceral bass slam that digital produces effortlessly, which vinyl never can. What I want is to read about is that someone HAS taken a certified digital master off the signal going into a vinyl cutting head (pre-RIAA), made it available for download to the general public , and had the two sources compared. Remember the whole process to be verified by an independent 3rd party (like a globally recognised major accounting firm). If you have such a pair of releases, I would love to hear how a blind AB test between the two went. And, like all AB tests, listeners must pick whichever is 'better' correctly 66% or more of the time (otherwise it is just a statistical anomaly). If someone has proof of that, I will be happy to apologise here. I've always wanted to, but not found the opportunity to do such a test! Is such a pair of releases available, a vinyl and a CD, the CD off that final vinyl master? So in the meantime? Don't fret about vinyl vs digital (of any source). Just enjoy the music (and the ritual, if that's what vinyl also is to you). Me? I'm more into the "tea" than the tea ceremony". ;-)

I've been a huge audio enthusiast since the 70s. In the 80s I owned the Bang & Olufsen Beogram 8000 turntable. Loved it. It broke after 5 years or so and I went without a 'table until around 2015. In the interim, CDs came out and this whole vinyl vs. CD argument began. All those years I wondered who was right and what was the truth of the matter, but I had no means to test the subject for myself. Around 2015 I purchased a Clearaudio turntable, along with a cartridge and phono preamp. This setup was around $3500, not counting the cost of the rest of my system. As it turns out, around this same time, one of my favorite artists remastered their entire catalog and released it on vinyl, nearly 30 albums in total. Initially I was only going to buy one or two, but ended up buying almost all of them. They sounded great, the best those albums ever sounded. Then, very shortly after this vinyl campaign, they released the same albums to hi-res outlets in digital format. I ended up buying most of those as well. As it turned out, the hi-res files were, essentially, what they cut the vinyl LPs from. As great as the vinyl sounded, the digital files definitely sounded better to me....and I don't mean for most cases. I mean in every single case. Nearly 30 albums. The hi-res sounded one generation closer to the source vs. the vinyl version. Since then, I've known which side I fall on for this argument.

For years I couldn't understand the vinyl resurgence because I was convinced that CDs were perfect because I was brought up in a house full of cassette tapes and the quality jump when I finally switched the CDs was huge. I had some vinyl that I'd picked up over the years and continued to do so but it was mainly stuff handed down to me by parents and family. It was only a few years ago that I came around to vinyl and started buying mainly that format. As much as it can be a measurable thing as to which sounds better I think an overall opinion can come down to emotional factors as well. For example, I have Dark side of the moon on CD, digital and a vinyl copy given to me by my favorite uncle. I enjoy listening to it on my phone or on CD but for me its more of an experience to put on my (second pressing) vinyl copy. I don't know why but I feel like it draws me in to the music more than the other formats. However, I also own Green Day's Dookie on all 3 formats and feel like I enjoy listening to the CD more because of remembering what was going on in my life when I bought it. Basically I think CDs are probably measurably better but in the end its an emotion thing. That said, I will ALWAYS pick a physical copy over streaming or downloading.

Records have gotten FAR too expensive these days, average is like $37 now. You can get a CD of the same album for 1/3rd the price and you can get used CDs in great condition for a couple bucks. Add to that the babying and maintenance involved with records and record players and it becomes even less attractive.

CD has the better quality, vinyl adds surface noise to a recording, a distortion, this is what people confuse for ‘sparkle’ or ‘depth’. With age this becomes even more noticeable. I’d take a CD any day over vinyl.

I focus on vinyl that was recorded before music was recorded digitally.

For me, CDs are the perfect medium between LP and streaming. It's a physical audio format, with artwork and a disc you can hold, interact in a tactile way, and display on a shelf (with a smaller footprint and more easily readable spines than LPs). But also come with the mathematically perfect reproduction of audio without me having to worry about a disruption in the looooong chain of variables for vinyl listening degrading the sound in some way. CD listening is low maintenance, which is good for a poor 20-something. A CD in a disc tray means it commands my attention for a whole album, and I'm not tempted to skip around to whatever other songs or artists strike me, like streaming. And on the flip side, no need to flip a CD, unless it's a particularly long album and it requires a second disc, but oftentimes a CD can hold an entire double LP (Passion by Peter Gabriel, Derek and the Dominoes, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk). So there's the appeal for me, in so many words.

My opinion is that: 1.) CD is potentially the best format - wider dynamic range, better frequency response, better signal to noise ratio, lack of wear. etc. For me, the problem arises within the mixing/mastering processes that are utilized. 2.) LP's required both the low bass and higher treble frequencies to be rolled off during the recording process (to keep the LP from needing to be 3 feet in diameter, and for the stylus to be able to maintain contact with the record groove). The frequencies were then restored during playback (RIAA curve). How can you be certain that nothing was lost during the RIAA conversions? 3.) LP's "sound" is actually the result of the inaccuracies of the medium. Some people prefer this sound. 4.) My question to those who believe that vinyl is better than CD because CD has "only" 44.1 thousand samples of music per second and must therefore be missing something - how are movies able to convey a realistic representation of what has been filmed with only 24 samples per second (or 24 frames per second)? Surely they are missing tremendous amounts of important material. 5.) My belief is that the resurgence in vinyl is due to the fact that it was "discovered" by people who had previously experienced music only via 196 kbps mp3's. I believe that the LP will always emerge victorious in such a comparison. Having said all that, I have purchased CD's of albums that I owned in LP format. Many of them are abysmal. However, purchasing a remastered version of the CD usually resulted in a much better (to me) version of the recording than the LP counterpart. Finally, I have ripped all my CD's (and converted the LP's when they had the better sound) to 320 kbps mp3's for car listening and FLAC for home listening. I am able to store all of my music collection on a flash drive that is literally smaller than my thumb - with room left over. I believe, as you have stated many times, that the only factor that is important is that you enjoy your music and system. Listen for your enjoyment, not for the enjoyment of others.

I see it this way. I enjoy both. 1. To get close to Cd quality with vinyl you have to spend quite a bit of money. Not willing to go that far. And CD as we all know is very convenient. Simple as that. 2. Vinyl truthfully DOES bring me back to childhood and the whole record buying, opening and listening experience. Examining the cover, reading the lyrics and liner notes, etc... Is that so wrong? 3. I really (re)gained a much greater appreciation for the thought that went into vinyl. What song ends side one? What song begins side two? Artists actually put a LOT of thought into that. And with double albums especially it’s an amazing journey with little pauses along your travels to turn the LP over or change to the second LP in the set. I honestly love that. 4. But the biggest thing for me - what the rediscovery of vinyl has done for me is simply slow me the hell down. I am WAY more engaged with an album than a CD because I have been programmed over the years to skip tracks I don’t feel like listening to. I simply don’t do that with vinyl. I let the whole thing play and it keeps me way more connected to the album as a whole. And for me that’s the whole point, especially in a single-song-downloadable-world.

Nothing beats the inconvenience, expense and frustrations which come from collecting vinyl.

It's in the Mastering... I just bought my first Raconteurs LP... and in researching it on Dynamic Range Database, I noticed that the DR for all 3 Raconteurs albums was 5dB on CD, and 10 dB in LP format. This is clearly a choice made by Third Man Records.... to make the CD masters 5 dB louder, and thus more dynamically compressed. Comparing these on a good hifi system, the LPs will certainly sound better, with greater dynamic range. Any listener would determine, with certainty, that vinyl is the better format, when really... your are NOT comparing apples to apples. I have good and bad examples of both LPs and CDs, so it's really very hard to compare. Cutting a record is still a rare art form, and much of that knowledge died away over the last 30 years.

I find this argument about digital or vinyl silly . In my opinion the mastering makes more of a difference than the format. The question should be, ( What is mastered better, vinyl or cd ? ).

It's not the formats. It's what goes before and after the formats. It's the recording and mastering or remastering. It's the insane amount of variables that go into reproduction. It's the turntable, the tonearm, the cartridge, the stylus, the alignment, the tuning, the equalisation, the pre-amplification. Or the DAC, the clock, the jitter, the pre-amplification. At the end, I must agree with you. No format is better. But the attention to detail in the reproduction of a given format can make the difference.

I love vinyl. Can vinyl accurately capture the signal recorded to it? No. It's a terrible recording system. The effect of the drop in speed as the needle progresses from the start of an LP to the end is enormous and clearly audible, and this alone should be enough to convince anyone that "analogue" doesn't imply a perfect reproduction. But I love vinyl.

I use all three. Streaming is convenient, vinyl is fun, but cds sound cleaner. I have fun and use them all. What bugs me about streaming is the quality is all over the place. Making adjusting constant.

I have CD's that I bought back in the late '80's early 90's. When I play that CD today, it sounds exactly the same as it did the 1st time I played it. The problem I have with vinyl is deterioration, pops, clicks, surface noise. Eventually the vinyl will wear out. They both sound good but the CD will sound good forever.

Let’s be brutally honest. A huge part of the allure of vinyl is the collectors aspect and the ‘sexy’ beauty of the artwork and actual physicality. This adds to the experience that you just don’t get with CD’s.

It is true that a virgin vinyl disk can sound great,but a CD sounds that good every time. From the moment that needle crashes down into the tiny, fragile groove, the. Disk wears out. You don’t need a golden ear or test equipment to hear the constant improvement of a CD over a vinyl disk. Vinyl is full of NOISE which ruins the music. Vinyl has become a fad today thanks to nostalgia, not quality.

Back in 1980's I had my fill up the pop and ticks and jumped ship to CD's and never looked back. Genesis self titled album bought on Japanese virgin vinyl was my last vinyl copy purchased and even that had problems with the ticks and pops on a good system. A CD mastered correctly could outshine a vinyl record with dynamic range as I have seen where the needle would bounce rarely if they didn't compress it enough. As others have stated most new recordings are done digitally anyways so your listening to a digital recording played on an analog media. To each his own and for me the lack of noise from CD's and the non wear effect (I literally wore our two vinyl copies of Dark Side of The Moon and it was my fist CD purchased) makes it a better choice. And if the engineers would take the time to use the CD to its full extent and stop engineering the music for mp3 and radio streaming we would see how well CD's would shine.

I don't understand why this is still being discussed. CDs are without a doubt better. In regards to subjective preferences, converting vinyl to 44.1khz 16bit using quality equipment, and stamping it to a CD, retains said preferences. While you can't even come close to retaining the unique sound signature of a CD (e.g. high fidelity and low noise floor) after converting it to vinyl. Additionally both the stamping and playback of CDs are bit for bit accurate while vinyl starts with 1000s of imperfections and gets worse every time you play it. Lastly, it's mathematically proven that you only need 2 samples per frequency to perfectly capture each wave, and nobody can hear above 20 khz, so there's no perceptual difference beyond 40 khz sampling. And when played at 80 dBa or lower nobody can distinguish between 16 or 24 bit+ (the noise floor of 96 dB is too low to detect despite the human limit of 120 dB). All this is confirmed in double blind testing with high end equipment and the most discerning pitch perfect listeners. In short, CDs can perfectly recreate the sound of any vinyl record on any vinyl player, while vinyl can't even come close to doing the same for CDs. The absolutely only reason some people prefer the sound of vinyl is because they have a positive associate its distortions, but since said distortions can be perfectly recreated by CDs they still have no cause other than delusion and ignorance to believe vinyls sounds better, or even near as good, as CDs.

This is literally the first time I have ever commented on a video so hopefully this speaks to how much thought I have given to this subject. Here is my take; music is art and much like any other form of art, I don’t believe in good, better best. The most important thing about art is how it makes you feel. Comparing CD’s to Vinyl is like saying an acrylic painting is better than watercolor piece or like saying a clay sculpture is better than a marble work. There is no right or wrong, there is only the question of wether the art solicits an emotion. Just because someone likes abstract art, it does not take anything away from realism.

More than 30 years ago, I compared vinyl to cd. Vinyl was easily superior. However the test was totally unfair to cd. Sony's 1st gen players simply sounded bad, especially compared to a LP12 with a Grado cartridge. Now that cd players are a fully matured format, I agree with you. Both formats sound good. Some titles I prefer cd, others vinyl. The differences usually come down to which was mastered and mixed better. Andrew, keep up the great work. This was an excellent video. I'm definitely looking forward to the next in this series Y. Fung

Vinyl is a romantic approach to audio. The process of setting it up, removing the disc from cover, the action of placing the disc on the turntable, this all makes for the ceremony of a dedicated listening session. But It is mechanical, a needle dragging across vinyl induces wear. The fragility of the grooves and susceptibility of hiss, pops, skips, etc detracts from Hi Fidelity. CD has a broader frequency range, no physical wear over time, no induced noise, hiss, etc. But less of a ceremony, even more so with streaming. It's your listening experience and we have our choice of how we want to fulfill it.

Growing up with vinyl, I loved the format. The ritual, the graphic art coming with it, its smell. I love the gear needed to play it, its mechanisms, its precision, its beauty design. And I loved its sound. Nevertheless I hated the fact that degrades each time I listen to them and my beloved music won't sound anymore like it was intended to sound. Knowing that more I listen to them further apart from its original sounding state they become. When CDs became popular at the beginning of the 90s, I switched over. They were way smaller, suddenly I can store way more of them in the same space where I was able to have few LPs, I could transport many of them and play them in the car. Convenience was enormous! But more than anything, its sound never degraded if you take enough care of them. Its sound quality remained the same over time and no matter how many times you listen to them, the next time you play it, it will sound the same. That's the definitive victory over vinyl and tapes! Streaming? Meh! That's just ambience music for the Dr. office, the supermarket or the coffee shop. You don't own it, you don't care about it, you don't know when is going to disappear. And it sounds worse than your own lossless files. CD is the best compromise between convenience, invariable sound quality and physical experience. CD is just the best format!

CD/Digital all day and twice on Sunday. Tighter bass and better clarity is way more important to me than cracks and pops

In my eyes it's a very simple reality: playing records turns listening to music into a singular, focused act -- akin to a hobby or ritual. The other forms through digital means -- MP3, CD, streaming services) have enabled listening to music to become a truly passive act, thus turning music into a background 'thing'. You could of course still create a similar setup to the vinyl experience by sitting down and streaming an album from start to finish, but it just has a tendency to turn music into a secondary. again 'passive' thing. Streaming services multiply this factor -- whilst I am blown away by a lot of what I discovered while having a Spotify subscription, it has DEFINITIVELY made music more and more throwaway to me. Eventually I started to feel like I was mindlessly consuming music like junk food...it's hard to explain but I'm sure others can relate to this. Now there is NOTHING wrong with any of the above, but it's for that reason I prefer vinyl... it conditions me to appreciate music as art rather than a throwaway thing.

i like cd’s because it still has the aesthetic and enjoyable process of holding your music but is way more convenient and easy to handle than vinyl. also a lot of cars have cd players so it’s always fun to take your cd collection to road trips

I have subscribed to you for years, and I never took the time to comment. I am a vinyl dude, but not because it is better. Every format plays a role. But saying that, when you have a vinyl record in your hands, does not mean that is as far as vinyl can go. You just happen to have that version recorded at that particular label record company, pressed at that particular facility, and so on. For instance, if you provide a good record master company with the original master files and request a vinyl version of the product, you might be very surprised. But that is just referring to the quality of the musical format. The format's physical properties represent another aspect you must consider. As a vinyl guy, I can't remember when I last carried my turntable to the gym, for example. When I drive to the gym, my entire vinyl collection becomes irrelevant. But I also know that the entire DSD file database I am carrying to the gym to play on my very cool digital player has zero value to me, and it represents zero physical attachment. It is all backed up at home somewhere, and those files are meaningless as long as I know they are backed up somewhere. I can have 30,000 digital files or stream endlessly through any of the streaming media. But I can't collect any of that. On the other hand, when I run out of space for my vinyl collection, I am facing a major problem, not to mention I can't have a 30000 vinyl record in my house. The other formats don't have that problem, even CDs. When getting to the point of too many, just rip them, back them up, and now store them wherever you want. But no other format has the strong attachment to their users as vinyl has. The vinyl community is very passionate about the entire process, from the recording to the studio, the mastering, the pressing, the presentation, and the artwork. And it goes beyond that. Vinyl is a musical format that is also a collectible item and that, on its own, is an encyclopedia of information to speak about. Comparing musical formats the same way we compare ice cream flavors is probably wrong. It all goes beyond the sound quality. Each format plays a different role. This is getting long, but you get the point.

CD: has better audio quality, lasts longer, better dynamic range, doesn't wear over time, doesn't scratch, doesn't warp, doesn't get dust, it is cheaper to purchase. Vinyl: has a unique sound that some people prefer when mastered correctly on a good record player. CDs are the winner in my eyes because I just want something that plays great and lasts a long time. I don't want to worry about dust or warping or skipping or any of that stuff.

I grew up and collected vinyl. I transitioned to CD when it was released. I toyed with streaming but never treated it seriously for serious listening (I've yet to listen to Spotify). I still buy music, and I almost always buy it on CD. I've also reinvested in a turntable and new and vintage vinyl to bring back that analog sound that I missed. I LOVE the sound of analog. But I also love CDs. If I had to have only one format, it'd be CD because while I enjoy some albums on vinyl a little better, the longevity and durability and ease of use of CDs is undeniably so far ahead of vinyl that it makes those subtle audio differences moot.

Its mastering that counts most, rather than format.

This is always a ‘fun’ discussion as I’ve found as others have on the subject. I myself have found that the biggest factor has been who mastered the recording. I listen to vinyl, CD/SACD, Minidisc and Cassette. When you have a player that takes advantage of the best of what there is to offer of the format I’ve found that I can enjoy all these formats. So my enjoyment of the music is to sit back, listen and smile at how each format can deliver an emotional experience and how technology has pushed the best of each of these formats! Great video, Andrew!

My opinion is that either format can sound stellar when done right, meaning the mastering and transfer from master to the format. So in my opinion it depends on the album, whether I will like the CD or vinyl version. Typically if an album is recorded in the digital realm and transferred to CD or lossless FLAC it will sound about as good as possible. But those albums recorded in the analog realm seem to lose some of their luster when converted to digital. Lastly, a lot of CDs are terrible transfers to the point where you can see the clipping if you look at them in audacity. I recently compared Lee Morgan's "Cornbread" CD version to the new Blue Note Tone Poet pressing and it wasn't even close. The vinyl was better. The horn section sounds clipped on the CD whereas you can hear the individual brass instruments on the vinyl pressing. But this isn't always the case.

I have got back into vinyl the last couple of years (after a 25 year hiatus, getting rid of my vinyl collection and going to only cd's). This time around I have a higher end quality built turntable and added a graphic equalizer to my audio system. I have been so enjoying music again through vinyl ! I have rebuilt my vinyl collection and must say that the analogue production of records from the '60's through to the early '90's just sound so much better overall than what is issued today. My ears find that most records pressed today sound much like the compression sound of cd's.

Having just gotten back audiophile after about 40 years I use both cd and vinyl. It’s more about finding my favorite albums and just listening to them. Thanks for your videos !

I remember when CDs first came out. They were expensive $17.99 to $21.99. Adjusted for inflation that would be 48.38 to 58.58 in today's money. However, audiophiles loved them, because a cd player back then could cost more than a $1000. The audiophiles would brag about the no hissing, no skipping, no scratches, and how clear they sounded. Many years later, when the common people were able to afford the CD format, they became the hated medium. Fast forward to 2019, now a good vinyl setup can cost as much as a new lowend motorcycle and the audiophiles fall in love with vinyl, because it is expensive. If its cheap it's not audiophile quality. If its expensive it is audiophile quality. 1982 CD 17.99 audiophile quality! 2019 Same CD from thrift store. 25 cents. Not audiophile quality. Audio Technica LP120 $250 Not audiophile quality. Technics turntable with the same cartridge as the LP120 $1100 audiophile quality. Same Technics turntable in 1986 priced at $179. NOT audiophile quality. Because the same turntable cost more in 2020, audiophile quality.

Good morning Mr. Robinson, It would seem that we agree more than disagree on this topic. First I am a music lover. Second comes the way it is delivered to my ears. Please note that I am much older than you and have been an "audiophile" since 1977. I have a $2500 turntable and $1500 phono stage. Total value of my system is around $20,000 (worth more to me than anything else in the world that I own or ever hope to own). I have an $800 cd player and $500 DAC and a $1200 cassette deck(yes I still enjoy playing with tape too). My intention in telling the prices in my equipment is not to brag nor to appologize for one format or the other. Simply said - I listen to both and I do not own a streamer so no comment for lack of personal experience with that format. Now that all being said I listen to both formats, digital and analogue, not based on "which is better" but rather "what do I want to listen to today or now?" I my humble library I have around 800 records, 500 CD's and countless tapes that have come and gone over the years. Which of the two formats for me are dependent on the individual recordsing. There is no debate that digital recordings are more technically accurate than analogue but that does not mean that all digital sounds better on all recordings. There are some recordings that I like better on CD and some records sound better to me. I like, generally speaking, listening to records the best because I grew up in that generation where we took our records to other locations to share and enjoy and I like all the rituals of care and preparation of the record for listening. With both CD and records I get to own the music and art on the covers so I will say and perhaps this is my ignorance of streaming that "What do you own with streaming-nothing?" Yes records first for me, but most important MUSIC! i hope I have not taken up more of your time on this than I should have, perhaps this dicussion should not be so much of a debate and more about sharing the love of music in any form that one can enjoy it. Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts on this topic. Loved the approach you have taken to this subject and look forward to hearing and seeing more videos in the future. Best of luck to you in all of your endeavors.

Most people can’t tell the difference. Sound quality isn’t really all that important to be honest. Music is all about your emotional response

I feel we have a VERY similar love and philosophy of music. I'm 60 and have been listening to vinyl since a very young kid... From 45s to LPs, 8 trackss and cassettes.. then to CDs and downloads, and more recently- streaming. I left LPs for a while and then years later dusted off the vinyl again. I have a lot of thoughts about music formats and lessons learned over the 50+ years of listening to audio. Listening to music is not so much an activity, but an experience. How you want to experience music varies .. especially between different people. The method people prefer is just that.. a preference. After all these years, I've come to the conclusion the best format will never be resolved. There's just too many variables and no two sets of ears are the same. As much as I love vinyl and the beautiful large format (and packaging), I still find myself loving well mastered audiophile grade CDs. The noise floor is so low, the maintenance so minimal, the reproduction no different. The sound of static, pops or clicks during a very quiet passage on vinyl can drive me nuts (sometimes). As for streaming (Tidal), it's great.. only problem is you will inevitably have a song that or track that pauses or stops due to traffic or connectivity issues.. even more frustrating compared to my issues with vinyl. I'd have a blast sitting around with you talking music etc. Good channel. Good video.

CD's sound alot better as long as they have not been victims of the loudness war Dynamic Range Compression.

Thanks for a thoughtful, nuanced, and honest take on this discussion. It's quite refreshing and honestly reflects my own experience and opinion. Thus I have been expanding my music library at the moment by picking up used CDs at thrift stores for most of the time close to $1.00 each. It's been a great way to discover new music (new to me anyway) on the cheap.

CDs are certainly cleaner than vinyl and a much lower noise floor. Whether they sound better depends on how they are mastered. If the recording source is pure analog, I think vinyl sounds better. If the recording is 100% digital CDs sound better. This is my opinion and others may not agree.🙂

So basically cd is better but people will say vinyl is no matter what.

Thanks Andrew for your new video, I have no experience with streaming music. But I remember the days when I bought my first phillips cd 104 player back in 1984. It was wonderful to hear music without the cracks and other noises of the vinyl. Many years I only heard cds and my turntable was packed away. A few years ago I found it in the cellar and my vinyl records. ( thank god I haven't given them away.) I found out that I had made peace with the cracks and vinyl noise and could enjoy the music with them. I recently bought a Dual turntable from 1973 (Idler wheel driven!) on the flee market . I pluckef it in and it still worked. After checking the stylus I put on the perfekt music for the occasion. Dark side of the moon (also 1973 original pressing) It never sounded better. Vinyl or cd? My conclusion: it depends! on the music you hear, on your Situation in live, even on your mood of the day. Greetings from Stuttgart

I buy CD's when I want to rip to hard drive. I buy vinyl when I love an album so much that I'd never not listen to it in its entirely, and I also love the album art. Vinyl is more of a passion. CD's are more of a collection quota.

As for MQA ("Master Quality Authenticated"), it is a smoke-and-mirrors lossy format designed to enforce Digital Rights Management copyright restrictions while providing no provable audible benefit to the consumer. Even most audiophile publications, which are usually quick to jump on board with any allegedly "hi-res" or "master quality" format, have walked away from endorsing MQA.

I don't know if it is mostly psychology logical but playing records just FEELS better.

Having grown up with vinyl (I'm a child of the late 50's and 60's), that's where my preference has always been. I have nothing against CD's. I own a player and any number of CD's but the vinyl resurgence has been a delight for me and to once again be buying records is something I thought I'd never witness at this point in my life. I need the physical interaction with a vinyl album which was always a highlight of mine during my youth. And with the new turntables and speakers I've purchased over the past couple of years, listening once again to vinyl has been a wonderful experience. If it sounds like I'm revisiting my youth, it's because I am.

While I don't personally collect or listen to vinyl records, I've always been captivated by the sheer beauty of vinyl covers and platters. The larger format really brings the artwork to life, making them visually appealing pieces to appreciate. 👍

As a trained sound engineer, I know Cd is better than vinyl. I just happen to like the experience of holding a vinyl cover in my hand, flipping true my collection and choosing the right Lp to listen to today. This , I don’t have with streaming

I'm 65 been buyin music for 50 years.Got 2000 vynil lps ,3000 cds albums .So my answer is Neather , to me it's " A.B.S"( Anything but spotify).

The main differences will be because you are actually listening to the equipment specific DAC in each scenario. It is the DAC circuit that creates the first and main level of analog sound quality out of our speakers…

Playing vinyl records is more enjoyable and more engaging to me. Sometimes you get nice artwork to look at and some information relating to the artist. I find myself listening to the whole album rather than skipping around or mixing songs up in a playlist.

cds are cleaner and clearer sounding. I’m pretty sure the whole vinyl sounding better is a myth cds are more reliable, inexpensive and better sounding than both vinyl and streamed music.

As someone who grew up on Vinyl, CDs are better. I had a high end turntable, rack system and speakers as a young teen. Then came cassettes and the portability of Walkmans and tape decks in the car, that auto reversed. Then came the CD that the millennials, grew up on, clear sounds, scratched, no problem. They moved to streaming, Pandora, Spotify... for convivence and playlists that were auto created. And then they heard friend's Vinyl on a turntable with real speakers & was like WOW! Vinyl does have way better sounds than flashed based music on phones, or small portable speakers. So that's why Vinyl is growing in sales. Here's the kicker on Vinyl, it degrades, especially if not taken care of properly, or stored vertically. Heat is no friend to Vinyl. Also, turntables and speakers are not all equal, be careful sharing. CD manufacturers and stores are guilty too. Best Buy, no CDs, Target, 1 end cap on a main aisle and Wally World 2 end caps on the main aisle. That's it besides secondary store sellers. So go ahead and figure out Vinyl isn't all it's cracked up to be & by then new CDs won't be available. So I still have that great rack system with a few Vinyl LPs I couldn't get on CD and they play fine. My daily go to is my iPod Classic, not flash based, and on Bose Docking speaker sound great. My car has 11 speaker Bose with USB for my iPod. I'm good and pay no subscription fees or have commercials, with better sound.

Andrew, Thanks for posting!!! I really enjoyed this video and God this topic has been going on for a long time. I will start out by saying I grew up with vinyl in the 70's and I can honestly say I Love both formats for different reasons. As for which is better, I think it is impossible to say that one is better then the other because everyone will have a different opinion. It may be said that if everyone had the same exact stereo systems, maybe you could have this discussion, but both formats have pros and cons. The way a CD sounds has so much to do with how much care and time was taken to transfer a Album that was recorded in the 70's on Analog equipment and then transferred to Digital. One example is John Denver's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 and 2. I don't know what they did but the sound of this recording on CD is no where near as good as the LP recording, and I was stunned, So I play the vinyl when I want to hear this recording, but keep the CD for the car. With Vinyl, there is a beautiful front cover and back cover, Beautiful liner notes inside the albums and some beautiful pictures, CD's can't give you that experience as they are too small, and you can't watch the CD spin. I could go on and on, I appreciate both and they are both incredible formats for listening.

There’s so much more to format wars than sound quality.

I love vinyl. However, it bothers me that ONLY songs that are placed 2-3 first from the edge sound good or great. The CD, on the other hand, does not have this disadvantage. I have many titles on CD and vinyl and I honestly admit that I don't know which is better. Much depends on the particular release because mastering can bring or take away a lot. A lot depends on the quality of the equipment on which you play music. If you have a bad CD player and a great turntable with an expensive cartridge and connect it to a good amplifier, vinyl will win. And vice versa. In general, as a vinyl lover, I must unfortunately admit that... CD wins if done well. The CD is the ultimate format... almost. MASTERING makes the difference. It`s the worst with POP music and the best with classical and jazz.

CDs are much more covenient to play - unlike LP records , quality of sound will reproduction will always remain constant , not deterioate with time and number of plays. Apart from anything else , for classical lovers , like myself , the CDs have too many advantages over tht vinyl LPs.

enjoyed your very even handed discussion on a contentious topic! Cheers

Very informative and questioning that topic. Thank you for those deep questions.

I have about 40 choice records, 200 choice cds and about 4000 songs on my computer and eternal hard drive. I have never gotten into streaming. The fun part of vinyl is for me the memories attached to a record and albums covers, beyond that i get liitle use out of vinyl. For cds I occasionally listen to them but again beyond copying them to my computer or making a mix cd of favorite songs I rarely listen to my cds. These days I set up a system with my computer music to listen through headphones and stereo system and I am happy boy. That being sad if cds come back I love to go to local store and spend time checking them out and purchasing them. Bottom line is music is meant to bring joy and comfort to to the listener, whatever format(s) provide that then go for it. Side note: the quality of a recording is important I have many mp3 that sound great to my ears it doesn't always have the to be about high fidelity. I seek out whatever format what is most pleasing to mystery ears.

I like cds because they're cheaper, require a cheaper set-up for the same quality as vinyl, and you can store them digitally forever. Vinyl is cool too though if you have a ton of money. Streaming is good for finding new music that you can purchase later on.

One important point for the regular listener who can't afford thousands of dollars worth of equipment is, How much do you need to spend to get excellent audio quality in CD, and how much do you need to spend to get closer, or to sound better than a CD with a turntable. What a 50$ CD player gives you, and what a 50$ turntable gives you? Make this test (you know it's not necessary). Great videos, very elegant video editing (not this one in particular, but I've seen some at this point) and great eloquence. Tired of youtubers who cant'n even speak properly. You won a subscriber!

I have returned to listen to vinyl for the last two years, after listening to CDs for 20 years , SACDs, HD files and some streaming, Streaming is definitely out of the question when it comes to listening and enjoying good sound, but it is great for background music when doing something else. Vinyl and CDs or SACDs can be equally enjoyable depending of the mastering and quality of the pressing. Some vinyls sound fantastic and some sound terrible. The same can be said about CDs and SACDs. Sometimes some specific CDs can sound better than the same album in vinyl. To me it appears that the quality and craftsmanship of each production is a bigger factor than the medium.

Vinyl vs. CD. vs. Streaming is to audio as Fireplace vs. Radiant Heating vs. Central Forced Air is to heating. Vinyl like fire is warm, somewhat primal. It invites you to sit with it, look at the liner notes in the 12"x12" format. Much like a fireplace, it's something you do to set a mood more than it might be to find a means to solving a problem. Depending on how you are wielding the fire, it can be very inefficient or extremely efficient. A cheap turntable with a cheap cartridge and poor records are going to yield a bad sound. A basic fireplace with poor circulation and wet kindling is going to make a poor smoky fire. An expensive turntable with a high quality cartridge and records in excellent condition are going to yield an excellent sound. An expensive modern wood burning stove with excellent placement/ventilation and excellent kindling is going to be a very good way of heating your home and setting a mood. In every case, a fire requires you to tend to it. So do vinyls. The analogies continue, relatively self explanatory I hope. So for me, Vinyl is less about "what sounds better" and more about what mood am I setting. Do I want convenience listening to a compressed digital recording, understanding that I'm getting a 72ppi image of a work of art? Do I want to really dig in and go all "Rick Beato" on a recording (as I often do) with a .WAV or .AIFF file, (multi-track lossless even better), where I could hear the bass player tapping their foot (Zeppelin) Where I can hear someone giving a vocal queue. Where I could hear a squeak in the beater hinge of a kick drum (Funk Power 1970), where I can hear the bleed of a previous take on the tape (Sir Duke). Where I can really listen to how the stereo imaging was done and dissect so many things to my hearts content as though I'm hearing something for the first time (OR) Do I want to dim the lights, look at the glow of my Marantz 2235B coupled with my Kenwood KD-550 sit back and simply appreciate something or provide that mood for guests coming over to dinner. A record sets a mood like streaming really cant. There's something about knowing it's a record that means something. Sometimes a warn record is like a warn hat or your favorite shirt. Sure your wife wishes you'd just throw the damned thing away but there's something about it that makes you happy. There's something about vinyl that says "I respect these artists enough to own them and put in the extra time it takes to actually get up off my ass and flip the damned tire." The ubiquity of 5G will allow for higher and higher quality audio formats to be streamed, which is hopefully good news for people who love lossless formats, like me with have a bunch of scratched CDs. I'll still love Vinyl. I'll still love thumbing through albums at the local record store and looking at the 12"x12" artwork.

Cd for me. I think its a matter of how you want to experience music. I like owning the music and i dont like the work you have to put in vinyl. Cds today are so cheap that streaming seems more expensive to me. Streaming cost what, $10 to $20 per month and you dont really listen to 50,000 of the catalogs. With $20 you can get 7-10 used mint condition cds per month. Thats more that enough for me.

such a refreshingly honest video! I think it all comes down to what it is we really like and enjoy about listening to, and collecting music, but even more what we like about acquiring and configuring gear. if we're honest I think it's clear we often love and desire tinkering and throwing money away chasing marginal improvements than the actual experience of listening to music. I've only started getting into vinyl the last couple years, and I'm starting to genuinely understand the modern appeal of that medium. But there are good reasons CD nearly wiped vinyl from the face of the earth for 35 years. It's hands down a better format in many (most) ways.

Thanks, this was really well spoken. Well done! I am a lover of vinyl, CD, lossless streaming, etc. From a sound perspective - I honestly think that at the end of the day, it mostly comes down to mastering when we talk about which is "better" for a particular recording. In a perfect world, all else being equal, CD or high resolution digital I think *should* be better on paper, but that often is just not the case in my experience due to mastering decisions. A good rule of thumb for me is that generally speaking, the original format it was released in is probably the best sounding. If it was recorded, mixed, mastered, and released on vinyl originally, it probably is the best sounding source. Same for digital. Not 100% of the time, just a rule of thumb. I have found that with a lot of older recordings that were originally done in analog, their newer remastered digital versions pale in comparison - And that is one of the real joys in records / vinyl, experiencing those. From an overall enjoyment perspective, it's vinyl for me. I like the physical media, I like the bigger artwork, I like having something tangible, I just like the format. I also enjoy a lot of rock from the 60's - 80's, and there is something more genuine about having the album in it's original format to me. When I want to listen to Dylan or The Beatles or Zeppelin, there is something about having those on *record* as they originally were intended that I love. Not a CD, not a digital stream, not a cassette, a record. That doesn't necessarily mean the format is superior from a sound perspective in EVERY case. I have CD's that sound great, and I have CD's that sound like crap. Same can be said for vinyl, streaming, or anything else.

I think it's more common for people to say CDs are superior to vinyl. For me, it depends on the master, the equipment, and the age of the product.

The point that most people miss when discussing Vinyl vs. CDs is the inherent background noise that vinyl introduces to every recording. Lint, dirt, or just the friction from the needle touching the vinyl ruins the experience of vinyl for me. Again, that's FOR ME. Everyone has the right to prefer whatever they want. I gravitate towards CDs 100% of the time. I "dislike" the compression of streaming services, but I understand they are a needed "annoyance". So, I'm willing to live with that annoyance. And thus I live in a digital world with all (almost all) my music in Apple Music. It's the most reasonable compromise. Cheers, be well, R.

Also the minor compression issues with CD are way less of a factor than crackling and popping . When the band was originally recording music , the music didn't crackle and pop !!! Crackling and popping isn't pure sound :p . Id rather have very minute compression issues with a CD that are literally unnoticeable than crackling and popping.....think about it. I love both forms but CD is better...hell I still listen to tapes.

Hi Andrew, I follow your channel because I believe there is no B/S with your views. I have had a vinyl collection of about 20,000 albums, when Sony released their first CD player I started sell g off my vinyl...big mistake as from a financial point they would be worth a lot more today. Anyway to get to the point of cd/vinyl....I am a CD enthusiasts. Reason being for all the reasons stated plus the fact there is no SURFACE noise. I find the reason that many who prefer vinyl is the lack of transient response and this results in a warmer sound. As a previous speaker designer and owner I have to say I find CD reproduction to be the more accurate. As an added comment the biggest difference in the digital domain is the digital to analogue converters used in more modern players. I unfortunately believe if someone spends a large amount on a turntable, arm and cartridge they are going to be physco- acoustically biased towards their vinyl commitment. I am retired now but just wanted to add my two bits.

Andrew Robinson You have mentioned something that is key for me in this topic. And it’s the fact that the vynl sound quality is high dependent on the turntable quality... therefore, the CD is a very "democratic" format because it gives you a high sound quality at a really much lower cost. This is one of the keys for me, use and listen to vinyls is a great experience, but the CD is much convenient, affordable, and easy to use.

Not really the right test. Isn’t that album digitally recorded and mastered? You’d have to compare vintage vinyl pressings to get the true analog experience

I find that it's a subjective experience not just between vinyl and cd, but also between albums and songs. There are some albums that sound better TO ME on vinyl, and some that seem to sound better on cd or hi-res digital. What we tend to leave out of the discussion a lot is the mastering and recording quality. ..... and boy, does it ever vary! I had vinyl before there were cds, and then years later switched to flac recordings of cds and hi-res digital because of living a nomadic lifestyle where I needed my music to be portable. But now that I'm settled again, I use all of the formats: vinyl, cd, and streaming. Like you, I find streaming to be good for exploring an artist's works without having to spend a lot of money in doing so. but when I find music that I really love and want to keep listening to, I seek it out in either vinyl or digital hi-res. Subjectively, I find that if an album was mastered in all analog, then the vinyl is usually better sounding. And that seems to happen more with older music. But vinyl that is mastered in all-digital usually doesn't sound good to my ears, and i will go for the digital. I have found that vinyl is a more finicky format to work with. Even if you invest in a decent turntable, cartridge and phono amp, you have to make sure that the table and cartridge are properly set up, and that the records are clean. And you have to keep doing this, or your sound will deteriorate noticeably! In the end, I listen to music because of the joy it brings me, and that musical experience is always more important to me than what format it is in or how cheap or expensive the hifi gear is.

Cd is by far superior to vynil, there is no objective measurement to the audio quality where vynil out performs cd the same with tube amplifiers verses modern amplifiers

The cool thing is we live in an age which allows us the option to pick and choose. I enjoy all of the formats.

It’s such sad world, when you have to beg people not to get triggered over a personal opinion, given with pure motives 😕

Again an awsome video! I listen to both analog an digital music I love my vinyl, tapes, minidiscs as much as I love my cds and streaming. For me as an collector of music and movies it depends on the situation where and wich media I use. When I´m on foot and moving around or sitting at my desk I stream music or movies. If im sitting and relaxing in my sofa and just listening to music I tend to go with my vinyls or tapes, minidiscs. If Im reading magazines I tend to go minidisc, cd. If I´m relaxing and just laying on the sofa I´ll go with my cd changer so I dont ned to get up. But all in all I love it all. In the future I will allso get myself a DAT Tape deck and a 4 track reel to reel in the setup. I´ll even going to start to record music on VHS. Keep these videos comeing they are really interesing.

I appreciate your deeper introspection...something thats needed in this hobby.. while as a "consumer" I often seek videos like yours to help me make my next move when in reality all roads seem to lead to the same place.. there is no end in either route one chooses to take.. the SACD player that you tried may not necessarily even be as good as a high-end CD transport feeding a $20k external DAC via i2S or for that matter a $200k record player may make one re-think these comparisons.. regardless, when I have a moment to sit still, breath, and look at the bigger picture, every format , CD(CDs, CD players, CD Transports),. Streaming (formats, compression, uncompressed, streamers, bridges, servers, etc.) or vinyl (pressing, master, player, etc), each has nested within it, micro-formats that in comparison to each in their respective category will sound different, better, worse based on the combination being tested and compared.. and when each is compared with others in different categories will sound further different, better, worse.. it seems that, much like life, one can only move, left, right, up, down from where one is, not where someone else is.

So glad I went back and found this video of this discussion. I have been convinced that analog - vinyl is better from years of reading journals like the Absolute Sound but then I remember when Mercury Records released their catalogue on CD and was hard pressed to think Vinyl was better. The conclusion after decades of listening for me is that in all mediums few things are really that good sounding which I think is why when most of a demonstrate a piece of equipment we pull out our best sounding recordings to evaluate the equipment rather than just the music we like. Frankly, after 50 years of being addicted to equipment all I really want is a system that makes almost everything I listen to sound good regardless of whether vinyl or digital or streaming. One last point. Starting at 18 years of age (I’m now 72), I have spent every Saturday night in a live jazz club except for random illnesses that popped up maybe totaling a dozen over all those years and frankly from a technical standpoint, many of those live performances sounded terrible, distorted, poorly miked, bad acoustics etc. but the emotional experience of a live event overrides any and all technical flaws. Music should be an emotional experience in my opinion and my goal as I said is to find a system that I stop caring if it is CD or vinyl or streaming. Thanks for yours and Kristi’s equipment reviews, but thanks more for being willing to reveal your human side. We are attracted to people, like music for the emotional experience and that is what makes your channel different. Cheers!

I’ve been doing direct comparison between files and vinyl, both with very good gear in a professionally calibrated audio system. Your observations are right on, but with one exception. That vinyl midrange body and decay is what I found to be necessary to evoke emotion. This requires some extended listening to experience and understand. Vinyl can bring me to tears. I’ve never experienced that with digital. I tend to find myself analyzing the sound instead. That digital clarity and extension comes with a price and I feel that the price is that it leaves a hole in the midrange area in comparison. Sometimes I feel like there’s some music missing. It’s lack of decay often gives it a steely or dry sound in comparison. Digital does impress at first listen but listening at length usually induces listening fatigue for me. I can listen to vinyl for hours on end and never get fatigued. Both are great mediums, but for that extra something something, vinyl is for me.

I love all formats for different reasons and none of the reasons are to do with which sounds best. Thanks for the Video💙✌

Superb as always Andrew. Open-minded and honest with no hidden agendas. Like you I use all three formats because they all serve a specific purpose (although I buy less CDs these days). Like you, I've noticed that some albums sound better on different formats and using different sound systems. An example: the first time I listened to Hall & Oates "H20" Mobile Fidelity vinyl I was completely blown away by the step up in quality in comparison to previous versions of that album. But that hasn't always been the case with ALL vinyl albums. Some music sounds incredible using high-end Bluetooth headphones when streaming. It depends on so many factors, factors which you intelligently discuss. Cheers.

Andrew...I personally, have NEVER had to clean a CD, before playing it! Also, the quality of the CD sound, sounds damn good, on my system.

Completely agree with that people spend thousands and thousands of dollars just to make vinyl sound more like the CDs they despise 😆. Better buy the CD in the first place. I like vinyl, but play it on a modest 70s turntable. Looks amazing, feels like a piece of history, and sounds like vinyl, warts and all. Especially *because of* the warts 😁. When I play vinyl (or tape, for that matter) I want to be able to tell that I do. Makes it more authentic.

A well spoken, well presented commentary.

That was a great talk Andrew.... You conveyed my opinion perfectly.... Well done....!

The sound of cd's and vinyl all depends on how it was recorded and mastered.. Streaming digital downloads are just for convenience not sound quality. For me vinyl is way more fun and a great conversation piece. And in the long run vinyl is worth way more money if you want to sell it. Plus there's music on vinyl that you can't get on cd's or downloads.

CDs are so convenient. Don’t have to get up to flip the record over. I also find I tend to listen to whole album on CD, where with records I tend to listen to only one side. It’s also easy to skip tracks or listen to the same track multiple times. All that said, I still prefer analog sound (not the pops and clicks lol)

Listening to music is an emotional experience and is inextricably tied in with where, when and HOW you first experienced that beloved song that changed your life. Therefore it follows that you will also have an emotional connection with the medium that played the song with which you bonded. I think this is why people can be so passionate in their opinion about vinyl vs CD. I was one of the first to jump ship from vinyl to CD when CD first made its appearance but in recent years I have increasingly come back to vinyl because of nostalgic and emotional reasons but also, and most importantly, much if not most of recorded music before the advent of CD never was released on CD. This along is reason enough to continue to buy LPs.

That’s the whole point of the hobby, enjoying the music thru all of it’s formats.